US: New Mexico wildfire kills 2

A wildfire in the southwestern US state of New Mexico has killed an elderly couple, state police said on Thursday.

The New Mexico State Police said in a statement that the couple attempted to evacuate but were unaccounted for.

They died in their burned home in the town of Ruidoso, which is on the eastern foothills of the Sierra Blanca mountain range, and is among several towns badly affected by wildfires raging through the state.

A spokeswoman for the Lincoln National Forest, which is centered around the town of Ruidoso, said firefighters have been able to control the so-called McBride Fire from spreading further into the town as of Thursday. 

Around 5000 residents have fled Ruidoso since the fire started on Tuesday, according to local officials.

The blaze is one of half a dozen wildfires raging in the state.

Hundreds of homes burned by McBride Fire

The McBride Fire has destroyed more than 200 homes in the area and burned around 5,736 acres (2,321 hectares) since it started on Tuesday, according to local officials.

Electricity supplies to homes have also been disrupted. 

The pace of the spread of the fire was accelerated by wind gusts of up to 90 miles per hour (144 kilometers per hour).

As of Thursday, the blaze has moved to the northeast of the state to largely unpopulated mountains and canyons.

Although New Mexico is no stranger to wildfires given severe droughts and high winds, climate researchers have warned that the intensity of the wildfires is linked to the effects of climate change caused by human activity and is only going to go up.

rm/jsi (Reuters, AP, AFP)